Publishing company sells assets, including Observer-Reporter

WASHINGTON, Pa. — A family-owned media company that has operated for 116 years in western Pennsylvania has been sold.

The Observer Publishing Company, in Washington, Pennsylvania, announced Wednesday it will sell its assets to Wheeling, West Virginia-based Ogden Newspapers.

The company publishes the daily Observer-Reporter newspaper, the weekly Almanac newspaper and numerous monthly and special interest magazines.

The sale is expected to close by Sept. 30.

Tom Northrop, Observer Publishing's president and publisher, tells the Observer-Reporter "it is increasingly difficult for an independent company to go it alone" and adds they chose Ogden because they believe they're in the best position to continue their mission "for generations to come."

Perry Nardo, regional publisher of Ogden Newspapers, says they are "thrilled to have the opportunity to continue the Northrop family's impressive work."